KEEPING AN EYE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN WELLINGTON

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City Watch #2

Our second round up of recent news and events around Wellington. If you think we’ve missed anything or having any tip offs or information please contact us.

Proving that you can really polish a turd (only kidding!), the Tawa Community Board has won a national award for enhancing its community at a recent national conference. Well done to the board members.

Don’t entirely agree with the Dom Post’s editorial praising the entry of John Morrison’s entry into the mayoralty race (such as his campaign organisation being a moot point), but they’re correct that it gives real life to what was shaping up as a dull contest.

Incumbent Upper Hutt City Councillors have unanimously voted to list candidates alphabetically in this year’s election. Why this sort of thing is left to conflicted and partisan elected official is beyond me.

Mayoral candidate Jack Yan is promising to invest in a new park on the present Wilson car park next to Swan Lane on Cuba Street.

The Shed 6 redevelopment that is meant provide alternative venue space while the Town Hall being earthquake strengthened is on track for completion after its original $4m budget increased to $6.9m after it was discovered it also needed earthquake strengthening. Living up to their image as ditherers, Council dropped the project, then reinstated about seven months later.

The Regional Council have begun looking into an integrated electronic ticketing system for Wellington, which will see one smartcard used for all buses, trains and harbour ferries – but anything coming from it is at least a year off. Why this isn’t a thing yet and even by 2014 wont be, is mind-boggling.

Onslow-Western candidate Hayley Robinson released a rambling stream of consciousness about improving access to data by residents so they can properly engage with Council and their processes.

Kapiti Coast District Council has taken delivery of a new $198,000, near-silent electric rubbish truck, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. From the sounds of things Councillors spent most of Friday playing with it.

Labour Lambton candidate Mark Peck says his campaign will focus on the issues that matter to local people, including better public services and a more accountable city council.

Word from Twitter is that perennial candidate Bernard O’Shaughnessy is running for mayor as a ‘Green-Labour Independent’. That will probably come as a surprise to Greens and Labour.

The Dominion Post think that tobacco companies deserve everything lawmakers throw at them and that their profits are built on human misery, but an inner city smoking ban is step too far.

New research has shown Wellington is a better city than Canberra. No surprises there.

After Glenys Coughlan initially didn’t alert the her Council colleagues to Positively Wellington Venue’s dire financial situation and potential deficit between $150,000 and $240,000, with 6 weeks left of the financial year it seems they will now break even. Accounting, eh?

People who’ve chosen to live in the inner city are shocked it’s louder than living in the suburbs.

The Wellingtonian has an interesting profile on Island Bay’s 1.3km long Derwent Street complete with cat killers and racing.

The Public Service Association has hit out over the loss of up to $2million in funding for Wellington City Council’s libraries over the past three years if another round of cuts goes ahead. Library access and funding is shaping up as an important issue this election.

And finally, the streets of Kapiti are safer following the removal of a “dangerous tree”.